The present invention relates to agricultural machines and operations, and in particular to a ground driven apparatus and method for mulching fodder remaining within valley portions of an agricultural bed as in a sugar cane field which has had sugar cane cut and harvested.
The preparation of crop rows for planting after one crop has been harvested has been an ongoing task for the agricultural ages. As described with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,224 to Shwez, it is well known that the residue of one crop must be disposed of in some manner before seedbed preparation can begin for the next crop. Shwez discloses an agricultural implement that cuts and shreds the stalks of plants by bending and pressing the stalks onto the ground and subsequently shredding them with swinging motor driven, hinged cutter blades. Cultivating the unplanted soil between crop rows to control weed growth, to mulch, and to aerate the soil is desirable for optimum plant growth, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,043 to Anderson et al., which discloses a power driven outrigger for driving a working tool to cultivate the soil through a circular stirring motion. A variety of implements and techniques are typically employed and may include, by way of example, using radially driven, rotating knife cutters and shredders, flail type stalk shredders, as well as stalk and root extracting and shredding. By way of further example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,841 discloses a rotary tiller having counter rotated rotors driven for chopping vegetation. Yet other techniques, like that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,659,188, operate to scoop up residue for chopping or mowing.
In spite of the many implements and method know in the art for mulching and cultivating the ground between crop rows, discing appears to remain the most popular. However, as inexpensive as a disc may be relative to other power driven mulching machines, it typically takes up to eleven passes, by way of example for a sugar cane field, along a crop row to adequately mulch and cultivate the soil. There is a need to mulch and cultivate such agricultural fields as sugar cane fields in a cost effective and straight forward manner, preferably within a single pass regardless of the soil type.
In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to mulch fodder within and cultivate an interspace between crop rows with a single pass over one crop row. It is further an object to fracture the ground within the interspace for enhancing underground lateral water flow and aeration.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention are provided by an apparatus comprising a frame adapted for moving across an agricultural field and at least two drums rotatably carried by the frame. Each of the drums is freely rotatable about an axis of rotation, and each includes a rolling surface for operating on a ground surface above which the frame is moving. A plurality of blades extends outward from the rolling surface for penetrating the ground surface. Each of the plurality of blades has an edge in spaced relation to the rolling surface and is oriented at an angle between zero degrees and ninety degrees to the axis of rotation. One of the at least two drums includes the plurality of blades having one angle which differs from the angle for the plurality of blades of a second of the at least two drums. One embodiment of the apparatus includes the at least two drums, in combination, forming a drum pair, with one drum pair carried at a forward portion of the frame and a second drum pair carried at an aft portion of the frame. The weight of the frame and drums are generally sufficient to allow the blades to penetrate the ground with the rolling surface of the drum freely rolling on the ground surface. With extremely hard or compact soils, the drums may be filled with water for adding weight to the apparatus.
A method aspect of the invention comprises freely rotating first and second drums about their respective axis of rotation, wherein each of the first and second drums includes a rolling surface for operating over a ground surface and a plurality of blades extending from the rolling surface for penetrating the ground surface. The first drum has the blades angled orthogonal to the blades on the second drum. The first and second drums are straddled transversely across and proximate the crop row for permitting the first and second drums to freely roll on opposing sides of the crop row. The drums are then freely rolled over the ground surface for having the plurality of blades to mulch within opposing ground portions on each side of the crop row.